Lady Generals battle Air Force Defenders in WNBL finals
October 1, 2019 The bragging rights as inaugural Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) champion will be on the line when the Taguig Lady Generals battle PSI Air Lady Air Force Defenders in the best-of-three finals starting this Sunday at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga. Coaches and players of both teams assert they are up to the task heading to Game 1 of the title series which will be aired live on PTV and Solar Sports starting at 1:30 p.m. and through the NBL Philippines Facebook page at facebook.com/nblphl). “Sabi nga kung may tiyaga, may nilaga. At sana nga makuha naming yung nilagang sinasabi,” said Lady Generals coach Melencio Mendoza. “Since Day 1 goal talaga namin is makasama sa finals. Kahit mahaba ang journey sa ligang ito, yun ang focus namin, to be ready sa finals,” Lady Air Defenders counterpart Diana Carandang said for her part. The two coaches appeared in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday at the Amelie Hotel-Manila where they were joined by Taguig players Dianne Marie Gelisan, Marilourd ‘Soc’ Borja, and Vangie Soriano and the PSI trio of Ambie Almazan, Anna Regina Buendia, and Katherine Sandel. The Lady Generals beat the Lady Air Defenders in their sole meeting in the eliminations, but everything is now water under the bridge with the stakes higher in the finals. “Ginawa naming lesson learned para sa amin yun going to the finals,” said Carandang in the session also presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). The Lady Air Defenders are on a roll going to the title series as they completed a three-game sweep of no. 1 team Philippine Navy Sailors in the crossover semifinals despite being only the fourth seeded team. The second seed Lady Generals meanwhile, survived no. 3 Cleon and Clyde Lady Snipers in a do-or-die Game three in the other semis pairing as they missed the services of their top two scorers in national players Janine Pontejos and France Mae Cabinbin, who both suited up for Gilas Pilipinas women’s team in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Bangalore, India recently. Pontejos leads the WNBL in scoring with 23.1 points per game average, while Cabinbin is the league’s assist leader with 7.7 average per outing. 'NBL on PTV' Solar Entertainment Corporation partnered with People's Television Network (PTV) to air National Basketball League (NBL) games over free TV starting August 25, 2018. The games will be aired on PTV 4, Solar Sports and BTV. The league stated that the weekend block helped PTV-4 clinch top 4 in the weekend ratings, mostly credited to their NBL coverage. Those offerings include ETC, Shop TV, Solar Sports, Jack TV, which will show American and foreign titles and Solar Pinoy Tagalog movies. Solar already books a key movie time slot on PTV-4, the government-owned TV network in the country. The films supplies to PTV-4 come from Solar Pictures' library of Hollywood movies. IBC 13 :January 4, 2019: IBC 13 launches the "Kaibigan" network. RPN's executive management declined to comment on the company's privatization, so majority of the data acquired came from various newspaper articles and government publications. Radio Philippines Network There are only a few available documents regarding the original owners of RPN. Much less was written about it before the declaration of Martial Law. According to Clodualdo del Mundo's essay on television 3, Channel 9 was originally allocated to ABS- CBN's sister station with Jaime Navarro as its production manager. Before the end of the 1960s, it was re-allocated to RPN. After the declaration of Martial Law, Channel 9 was reorganized under the Kanlaon Broadcasting System, owned by sugar baron Roberto Benedicto. RPN-9: The Leader RPN thrived during the Martial Law era. It was considered as the leader among the TV stations at that time. Teresita Mora, RPN's present Program Opera-tions Department Manager, remembers that time as "bountiful. The Puruntong Family (L-R: Dolphy, Maricel Soriano, Roily Quizon, and Nida Blanca). "We had bonus (sic) of sacks of sugar and rice," said Mora. "And then we were given bonuses like the other companies also like Christmas bonus, etcetera." Mora readily admitted that the station has favored pro- government news content since the time of Marcos. Government news in RPN usually meant coverage of government-sponsored events and the like. To use Mora's exact words; RPN usually aired "what the government wanted them (RPN) to air." (Personal communication, March 9, 2007, Quezon City) Like the other television stations, RPN also imported foreign programs but it was its locally produced entertainment shows that ruled the airwaves. John en Marsha, a sitcom created by musician- director Acting Fernando, ruled the ratings for years. The show, which was about a supposedly typical Filipino family, would make the Puruntongs a regular house-guest in almost every Filipino home. Dolphy led the cast as John while actress Nida Blanca played Marsha with Dely Atay-Atayan as the overweight mother-in-law who would challenge the financially challenged John with the now-famous words, "Kaya John, magsumikap kaf (So, John, try even harder!) Another noteworthy show of RPN during the 1970s was Superstar, a variety show which showcased Nora Aunor. Superstar is among the longest-running, top-rating shows in the history of Philippine television. Another Nora Aunor starrer was the drama anthology Ang Makulay na Daigdig ni Nora which also enjoyed high ratings and even earned awards for the station. The very popular soap opera Flor de Luna, which starred Janice de Belen also aired on RPN. The triumvirate of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon also aired the first-ever episode of Eat Bulaga on RPN. Other successful local shows were Ang Bagong Kampeon, an amateur singing contest, and Buddy en Sol, which starred Redford White and Eric Quizon. Aside from the entertainment shows, both RPN and IBC also produced informative and educational shows such as those that focused on the more rural audience (e.g., Tele-Aralan ng Kakayahan and Ating Alamin). Children's shows such as Batibot and Pen Pen de Sarapen also ruled the airwaves via RPN. Due to the success of its local programming, both in ratings and revenues, it was no wonder that the station's motto in the early 1980s was RPN-9: THE LEADER. Eventually, the Philippine government ended up owning and managing various private corporations formerly owned by the so-called cronies. Among these are the television stations RPN-9 and IBC-13 used to be owned by Ambassador Roberto Benedicto. Through its fiscal agents' and government-nominated directors, these two TV stations which once dominated the air waves, were in effect under the control of the government since they were sequestered. - It is now 20 years that these stations were out of private hands and under the care of government but the profitability of these firms has gone from bad to worse. The government decided to have the firm privatized and another government agency, the Privatization Management Office, is tasked to undertake the privatization of RPN-9 and IBC-13. In a news report filed by Michelle Remo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (May 3, 2006), the state-owned television station RPN-9. According the Bengzon, RPN-9 owes the Bureau of Internal Revenue, several creditors — from which RPN-9 has trading relations with — and the Project Management Office itself. “This is an extremely complicated privatization, and so we want to have a compromise with the parties concerned,” he said in a press briefing yesterday. “What we want is that the proceeds of the sale should be able to cover the debts and retirement benefits of employees. Simply because she has never done one. Although the reporter has not felt any direct pressure from Malacafiang, she said that the pressure comes from the station's management itself. The ones pressuring her are the desk persons, producers, and RPN board members. However, this reporter admitted that there were instances when she had to write reports that were really not important. The stories were covered simply because the persons involved were "bata" (persons favored) of some board members. She and other reporters are also pressured to do public relations (PR) reports especially during elections. The most recent (and most public) example of government imposition would probably be the non-renewal of the Tulfo brothers' contract with RPN. Their show, Isumbong Mo (Tulfo Brothers) was unceremoniously cancelled in August 2006. Lacuna practically admitted that admitted that Tulfo's accusations. "None of the top-level guys in RPN-9 would openly admit that it was a decision compelled and imposed by Malacafiang," Lacuna said. "Certainly it's an open secret that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo pressured RPN-9 to cancel Ramon Tulfo's IsumbongMo because of his feud with the First Gentleman." But when asked about whether management's decision was justified, Lacuna said, "If this was not a sequestered station, it would certainly not be justified to cancel the show. Since this is a sequestered station, managers have to bow to the powers-that- be." Although But it later conceded that the sale might not push through on schedule because of the debt problem. Bengzon. The future of RPN According to the Privatization Management Office (PMO), the Philippine Government is committed to a. Foreign ownership may provide the station with its much-needed revenues, but as Lacuna said, it would strongly affect its performance as a media company in terms of content. Employees of sequestered companies such as RPN welcome the proposal. Teresita Mora claimed that foreign ownership would definitely be to the advantage of RPN mainly because of theinfusion of capital. Like Mora, other employees. Having more money would make the station more competitive since it would be able to produce its own shows in its own terms (Personal communication, March 9, 2007, Quezon City). Yet others, like Dodie Lacuna, consider foreign ownership as a dilemma. It seems that RPN is stuck between a rock and a hard. RPN 9 former executive vice president Frank Abao confirmed that RPN- 9 had 600 people in 2005, or about 100 more than when the government took over in 1986. And yet that big a labor force cannot be justified since RPN has cut back on station-produced shows in favor of foreign shows. Financial problems gradually overcame the company. Shows were not marketed well to advertisers and since RPN was merely sequestered and is not subsidized by the government, funds became tight. It became an inevitable downhill spiral: since there was little money coming in, the network's programming suffered which made the company's financial status more critical. In 1996, RPN-9 imported the Mexican telenovela Marimar which became a surprise monster hit. The Latin soap opera was dubbed in Tagalog and its stars even visited the Philippines and held successful concerts to the delight of their Filipino fans. But more than the introduction of Mexican telenovelas, RPN-9 is credited for the redefinition of primetime programming in Philippine television. Marimar was shown from Monday to Friday on primetime (6 pm). This horizontal programming proved to other networks that it would be economically viable to schedule a program five days a week on the same hour. Ideally, RPN as a media company should cater to the needs of its audience by providing quality shows and balanced news and information. But to do that, it needs to have a stable financial base that only its privatization can provide. Staying under government control will mean the inevitable end of the station. Privatization is seen as a solution to RPN's financial crisis; yet it poses other concerns regarding the future ownership of the station. Considering the dire situation that RPN is in now, there is no guarantee that possible buyers of the company would be thoroughly screened and. privatization. "we just sit and wait, there may be nothing left to sell," said Concio in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer (May 26, 2006). She admitted that there was a need to make the station more viable. "We want people to know (that), pending privatization, we are beefing up our programming," she added (Cruz, 2006). RPN's primetime programming consists of foreign canned shows that were also seen on cable television. Although RPN's program program operations manager, Teresita Mora, denied that cable TV had that much influence on RPN's viewership, the station still decided to "tweak" the interest of not just the A and B markets (which was the target audience of RPN's primetime shows) but also of the "mass" viewers (Personal communication, March 9, 2007, Quezon City). Since the network admitted to a financial crisis and is therefore unable to produce its own shows, it entered into an agreement with Solar Entertainment Corporation. Solar agreed to become RPN's production partner — Solar will produce the Solar will produce the shows while RPN will provide Solar The Bureau of Internal Revenue also announced that it was that it was willing to approve the restructuring of RPN's back taxes to move the plans for its privatization forward. In August 2005, CLSA Exchange Capital — the local counterpart of Credit Lyonnaise, an international investment house — was tapped as RPN's financial advisor for its privatization. This is considered a crucial move by the government towards the privatization of RPN-9. According to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Arroyo 56 Gulmatico. Other news Radio Philippines Network (RPN), a government-owned station, celebrated its 35th year on June 19, 1995. RPN recently realigned its main thrust by shifting from local to foreign programming. It also signed a contract with Domsat (domestic satellite) to resume broadcasting via satellite. RPN has four television and 1 3 radio affiliate stations nationwide, including its flagship TV channel, RPN-9 PEOPLE'S TELEVISION 4 is a government-owned television station mandated to disseminate information on government plans, priorities and programs. PTV-4 is now the object of a recovery suit by the Lopez family, who owned the station when it was known as ABS-CBN, before the years of martial law. Former Philippine Vice President Fernando Lopez, chairman of the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation which now manages Channel 2, presented the Lopez family claim for the return of PTV- 4 to the ABS-CBN network. He continued that the corporation has substantial financial obligations and that only the sale of PTV-4 to the government on numerous occassions but the offer has always been rejected due to lack of funds. In retrospect, the entire broadcast center, including PTV-4, was taken over by the Marcos administration and was used for 14 years without any compensation to the. In their appeal to President Aquino, the PTV-4 employees said, "There is a need for public broadcasting whose priority is not profit and commercial programming, but an emphasis on educational, religious, news, public affairs and sports programming. Returning Channel 4 As part of a government modernization programme, Peoples' Television-4 (PTV-4), the state-owned broadcasting network, is set to start up satellite broadcasting by the end of 1992. PTV-4 decided to implement satellite broadcasting using air time on Palapa-II, the Indonesian state-owned satellite. PTV-4 plans to simulcast its prime-time programmes initially in nine provincial stations on the island of Luzon, the Visayas region in central Philippines, and down to Mindanao. There are nine existing relay stations in the cities of Baguio, Naga, Cebu, Dumaqute, Bacolod, Davao, Zamboanga, Dipolog and Pagadian. The second phase of the plan calls for an additional eight provincial points to link with the satellite feed or simulcast broadcasting by the end of 1992. These additional provinces are Laoag, Vigan, Ilagan and Tuguegarai in Luzon Island, and Puerto Princesa in the Visayas region. With commercialization and deregulation around, public service- oriented stations have to find the right mix between what is popular and mass-oriented and what is unquestionably good quality programming in order to compete with commercial networks. This is the case of PTV 4, the People's Television Network, Inc. Now with its own charter and with the infusion of capital, PTV 4 continues to provide the viewing public with more news, public affairs, educational and television programmes. PTV-4 was the first TV network to mount a "live" coverage of the Ml Pinatubo June 1991 eruption from two remote points — San Fernando, Pampanga and Olongapo City. As a television station responsible to the people, PTV-4 was the first among television stations to broadcast information on the July 1990 killer earthquake. PEOPLE'S TELEVISION 4 (PTV-4) People's Television is the new government-owned commercial network. It replaced the Maharlika Broadcasting System and has Channel 4 as its Metro Manila station. PTV has 10 replay stations and one relay station nationwide. Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC), which broadcasts on Channel 13, plunged into near-bankruptcy under government control. In 1990, it was in the red by P14 million and emerged as the worst performing station in the country. Both stations were sequestered in 1986 to prevent the loss of crony, and possibly public, assets. Meanwhile, People's Television or PTV-4, the official government network, claims to have made money but the Commission on Audit reportedly questioned its 1990 financial statements. Sheila S. Coronel. Broadcasting Corp. to handle IBC management. EVEN THE PCGG was upset. PCGG comptroller Peralta said, "I felt we were going with the very same people who still owe us a big amount. Why don't we settle everything first before negotiating a new contract?" Mirasol tried delaying the signing of the new contract until RTAM had paid its debts but was convinced when RTAM promised to pay past accounts in 12 monthly installments. The contract appeared airtight. Profits were given up by IBC for a. Another time, they wrote to President Aquino, complaining of mismanagement by officials who sold IBC ad spots for a song. All this action and emotion has prompted IBC's top-rated shows to scamper to the newly opened station, ABS-CBN, in 1987 and 1988. Ratings dropped and soon revenues followed. In 1989, the board finally decided to resort to an external marketing group, a move which in effect admitted government's inability to market the network. In September of that year, IBC entered into a contract with RTAM. The contract was based on negotiations rather than bidding, prompting the Commission on Audit to question the arrangement. Board chairman Mirasol said the contract specified monthly sales targets to protect IBC. In PTV-4, supposedly the government network, the station is venturing into commercial programs in the hope of earning money. So desperate was the station for any rating show that it even thought of getting teenage stars to read the news, recalls Doris Nuval, head of the station's public affairs group. The station has been a perennial tail-ender in the ratings game. With only a franchise, borrowed equipment and loans from banks, the Lopez family was able to resurrect what is now the top broadcasting station in the country.It pirated GMA-7's top marketing man and IBC-13's top-rating shows. Since then, it has been aggressive in programming and promoting its shows. When the government took over Broadcast City after the fall of Marcos, it broke Benedicto's media monopoly consisting of three of the five TV stations. This freedom has made possible the re-emergence of pre-martial law stations, among them the Lopez- owned ABS-CBN, and Associated Broadcasting Corp. (ABC-5). Their growing number points to the resurgence of print and broadcast. The poor performance of these government-controlled stations paved the way for the successful entry of newly opened private station ABS-CBN. The Lopez-owned company, which re-opened Channel 2 in 1986, ranked first in ratings by 1988. From a network with poor ratings, a small outreach and hardly any equipment in 1986, PTV-4 will soon be Number 1 among the networks in terms of nationwide reach and coverage. On whether or not it was a waste to make PTV-4 a government station When one talks about ratings, there was a time when PTV-4 even achieved No. 1 status. For almost six years since PTV began operating until the signing of the charter, the network had not received any funding the government, forcing it to compete with the bigger, more popular commercial networks for advertising (Nuval, 19%; Diez, 1999; Bautista, 2004). Looking back on those difficult years of his predecessor, Diez described the programming dilemma the network faced then. For a full year from 1987 to 1988, PTV embarked on almost complete commercial network's highly-sellable sitcoms, musical variety programmes, dramas and what-have-yous, just to be able to grab a portion of the advertising pie. It was also during Limcauco's time that PTV became the official broadcaster of the Philippine Basketball Association games. Network General Manager Dodi Limcauco envisioned a transition period where PTV 4 will first become "a government. While the PBA games brought in much needed ratings and revenue, the network felt constrained in planning its programming. The right to broadcast basketball games live on TV and radio was granted to Vintage Enterprises, Inc., the blocktime dealer heandling game coverages. Vintage pays the PBA a franchise fee -- this is the TV income of the PBA. It also pays People's Television Four (PTV-4), the government station which airs the games live from ULTRA, for airtime charges. In return, Vintage earns by selling commercial spots to interested advertisers. PTV-4 had higher ratings when it aired the PBA games. Regarding that legislation making PTV-4 a government station, it is ready for signature by the President What happens here is that it frees the station such that Public Information 167 Highlights of the Open Forum of the U.P. Public Lecture Series on Public Information Part 111 National Defense and Foreign Affairs Highlights of Secretary. However, herequested thathe and Senator Osmeñabe furnished with the financial statements and figures of PTV-4, including the progressionofits income intotaland, specifically, the contract with Vintage Enterprises in the matter of the broadcasting of the PBA games. (At that time, I was busy running Channel 13.) That beauty contest stint led to more and bigger breaks for Diez. Cendafia made him in charge of PTV-4's television projects including coverages of PBA basketball games. PTV- 4 and the 23 government radio stations compete with the commercial TV and radio stations because they do not receive adequate subsidy from the government. They claim that only by accepting commercials can they support their operations. What is even worse is that the programs aired on these government-owned media are no different from those of the commercial stations, such as the PBA series and Starbrighters (a local entertainment program featuring new and young talents) over Channel 4. During the waning years of the dictatorship, the ABS-CBN "mafia" was still all over the industry. In 1981, GMA-7 and IBC-13 were the top-raters, both with 28% of audience share. RPN-9 followed with 26%, MBS-4 with 11%, and BBC 2 with 7%. At all the top stations, ABS-CBN veterans were the pillars. Vilma Santos had her hit show "VIP" at BBC-2, Nora and Dolphy had "Superstar" and "John en Marsha" at RPN-9, and Ading Fernando was making the hit "Chicks to Chicks" at IBC-13. When Ading died in 1983, "Chicks to Chicks" was passed. The closure of Benedicto's BBC-2 and the sequestration of Radio Philippines Network-Channel 9 and International Broadcasting Corporation-IBC-13 left the field to two dominant television networks, GMA-7 and ABS-CBN. ABC-5 was launched only in 1993. It is owned by Edward U. Tan, a businessman who was a block-timer for other stations even before the martial law period. (A block-timer buys and sells air time as an independent programmer). These three networks represent the leadership of the private sector television broadcast. But in December of the year, it was sort of revived via The Legend Superstar in IBC 13 to complement a drama anthology series for the same station. ABS-CBN 2 also contracted her for a season in the program Star Drama Theater Presents. The Big News' Makes Big Splash The re-entry of ABC Channel 5 (formally launched last February 21) into the fray signalled a more furious contest for news viewership. Currently the competition is limited to five television news programs: ABS-CBN 2's The World Tonight, People's Television 4's News on 4, Greater Manila Arts 7's Network News, Radio Philippines Network 9's Newswatch* and Islands TV 13's Evening Report. In its two-hour broadcast on February 21, a musical drama special which the people of ABC 5 chose to call "Come Home to ABC," the old- new station traced its historical beginnings in the Sixties, its rise to leadership and prominence in the broadcast field until the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. The chronicle ends with the rebirth of Channel 5 "after the longest station break in history." Said ABC's promo supplement in a newspaper: "At best, a station break doesn't last longer than a few minutes. This one lasted twenty years." The man behind ABC 5's resurgence, Chairman and Managing Director Edward Tan, likes to say that "being in media is a rare privilege. It opens a lot of doors. Not the least of which is the door to the truth. That, we believe, is among the greatest responsibilities of media." Other executives of the station give much of the credit to the reopening of ABC5 to Tan. "He just kept on going." Tan used to be a blocktimer in the old Channel 5. He is also a close friend of the Roceses who originally owned the station. The old Channel 5 programming may be a difficult act to follow. Those who can look back to those days recall the big names on and behind the camera, the late Jose Marie Velez, station manager Ramy Diez. But Tan believes that the revived station can keep up with its standards. Tina Monzon-Palma, who is now chief operating officer of ABC 5, also anchors The Big News which in 1961 became the first news program to win By. The late Jose Mari Velez, Palma's co-newscaster on GMA Headline News,, used to anchor the original Big News until the station's closure. The program later went on to win five more consecutive CAT Awards. The new Channel 5 news department is headed by Olive Villafuerte, news director. Channel 5 also is consciously veering away from the tabloid format for its Balitang Balita newscast with emphasis given to "videos with a more uplifting feeling. Former radio man Eric Eloriaga joins Palma as newscaster while Randy David and Chi-Chi Fajardo make up the newscasting tandem for the six o'clock Balitang Balita the vernacular version of the news. Late-breaking news bulletins, which have become standard fare in local TV programming, also are a feature of ABC 5's news broadcasts while The Big Story anchored by David on Friday evenings, offers a summary of weekly events in the Philippines and abroad. VIVA ON IBC Viva Television (VTV) places program blocks on broadcasters Channel 9 and Channel 13. Del Rosario says that Viva Entertainment is also aggressively hunting for its own new strategic terrestrial channel partners. He says the group is definitely interested in buying a channel because, at the moment, its content is redistributed only as programming blocks on Channel 9 and Channel 13. Viva Television (VTV) programming (including prime time) on the channels includes imported Latin telenovelas Siempre Te Amare, Maria Cielo and Serafin (all dubbed into Tagalog), magazine show Milo Sporting World and game show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Del Rosario says these government-owned channels – the VHF delivered Radio Philippines Network (RPN) Channel 9 and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) Channel 13 — are among Viva's acquisition targets. Channels 9 & 13 were sequestered from associates of the disgraced former President Marcos. Incumbent President Estrada ordered the loss-making channels be privatized in September 1998. While there have been plenty of potential buyers, including Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) at one stage, the on-again, of-again sales have never gone through. Options for buying either of the country's two leading channels are probably out of Viva's reach (without GE Capital on board), purely for financial reasons. What's more, leading telco PLDT is in talks with second-ranked terrestrial channel GMA-7 for a possible content deal (see page 1), while the leading channel – the Lopez group-controlled ABS-CBN (channel 2) — would likely be too rich for Viva. With a recently completed recording studio equipped with state-of-the-art digital recording, mixing and mastering facilities, Viva Records is the company's music business. Great news In contrast, IBC-13 will have run all the fimsby the 245th week and still will have paid only 75% of the purchase price. The Viva purchase has been enormously profitable for IBC. 4.1 The first five showings of Viva Box Office Hits sold an average of W99,550 each. Solar-RPN Those offerings include Solar Sports, Solar Pinoy Tagalog movies and Solar USA, which will show American and foreign titles. Solar already books a key movie time slot on RPN channel 9, one of the Philippines' leading free -TV channels. The films supplied to RPN 9 come from Solar Films' library of U.S. and Tagalog titles. The Radio Philippines Network which covered the Palarong Pambansa'96 live for selected events on RPN 9 Davao, showcased the highlights of selected events on RPN Manila on two Newswatch Editions and covered major events on all RPN radio stations nationwide. History of RPN and IBC The Kanlaon Broadcasting System (KBS) which, since 1960, had been operating 20 radio stations, branched out to television in 1969 with Channel 9 in Manila and Channel 12 in Baguio up north. Owned by the economically influential Roberto Benedicto, KBS Channel 9 was the only private television station allowed to operate when martial law was declared. Under its new call name, RPN 9, the network took over the facilities of ABS-CBN and became the premier TV station during that period. RPN 9 was the first to telecast in full color and bring the first Outside Broadcast Color Van into the country. Among its claimed "firsts" were its live coverage of major international events via satellite such as the Montreal Olympics and the 1995 papal visit to the Philippines; airing of news programs and other shows via domestic satellite nationwide starting in 1981; pioneering in variety shows built around a top star; making public affairs programs popularly appealing and introducing innovations during the day and evening slots to make them more profitable. ln 1996, RPN made TV history when it launched a Mexican telenovela "Mari Mar," dubbed in dubbed in the Filipino language, which shook up TV ratings. To be competitive, the other private networks restructured their early evening programming, a timeslot usually reserved for news. Now on the way out, the telenovela range had, however, given some useful lessons in the production of local soap operas. After the People's Power Revolution in 1986, the government put RPN 9 under sequestration. lts Board of Directors is appointed by the President. More recently, the network has started to revitalize with the infusion of new investments in broadcast infrastructure. lt is seeking to privatize to compete effectively in the industry. lntercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (lBC) began operations in February 1975 during the martial law period. Consisting of three emanating stations and six relay stations with the main station in Manila, Channel 13 started with a programming focused more on news and public affairs. ln 1976, it innovated with a programming combination of 80% local programs and 20% foreign shows which proved to be a big success. In 1978, the network initiated an expansion program with the establishment of two more eminating stations in the provinces. Along with RPN-9, IBC-13 dominated the TV scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After the 1986 People's Power Revolution, lBC was sequestered by the government. Shortly, thereafter, the network began to experience major operational problems. With high cost of programs, talent fees and TV rights, the station started to lose some of its top executives and talents to rival networks. For the next few years, the network was beset with mismanagement and labor problems and its ratings and income suffered a setback. ln 1993, lBC became 100% government-acquired by virtue of a compromise agreement with its owner, Roberto Benedicto. Unlike most of its counterparts in the ASEAN region, PTV Network does not receive a regular subsidy from the government. lt is run commercially, generating revenue for its overhead operating expenses through advertising and sale of airtime, in effect competing with the private broadcast sector. As provided for in its charter, a one-time equity infusion of P500 million for capital outlay was given upon its incorporation. In the immediate survey that followed, Channel 13 split the prime time ratings with Channel 9. A feat, considering 9 had all the money and power. But our elation was shortlived. RPN 9's general manager Buddy Tan had the survey invalidated. Then, Tan began his pirating binge of Romy's top talents. A couple of months later, Soriano was coerced into selling Channel 1 3 to Benedicto who also operated the former Lopez-owned Channel 2. With no place to go the rest of Jalosjos' talents were forced to join the Benedicto monopoly of stations. With no channel